Throttle-valve mechanism for locomotives.



H. S. VINCENT & W PLST'EELE.

THROTTLE VALVE MECHANTSM FORLOCOMOTIVES.

' APPLICATION FILED DEC. 8. 1916.

1,227,096. Patented May 22,1917.

3 SHEETS-SHEET I.

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H. s. VINCENT &- w. P; STEELE. THROTTLE VALVE MECHANISM FOR LOCOMOTIVES.

APPLICATION FILED DEC. 8. I916. 22,

3 SHEETSSHEET 2- -F'IG. 2-

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H. S. VINCENT 6. W. P. STEELE.

THROTTLE VALVE MECHANISM FOR LOCOMOTIVES.

APPLICATION FILED mac. 8. 1916.

1,227,096. Patented May 22, 1911.

3 SHEETS-'Sl'iESTv 3.-

Ill llif ,WITNESSES I NI E s'rAr s PATENT OFFICE;

HARnY s. fvmcmvr, or mnenwoon, AND WILLIAM rsrnnnn; or .rnnisann, NEW II JERSEY. K

THROTTLE-VALVE MECHANISM "FOR LOCOMOTIVES.

To all. whom it may concern:

Beit knownthat we, H RRY S VINCENT, of Ridgewood, in the county ofBergen and State of New Jersey, and T VVI LIA'M P. STEELE, of Palisade,in the countyof Bergen and State of NewoJersey, have jointly in-' venteda certain new and useful gImprovement' in Throttle-Valve -Mechanism "forLocomotives, of which improvement the following is a specification.

Our invention relates to throttlevalveoperating mechanism of .the classor type, long known in the art, in which the connections between thethrottle shaft and throttle lever extend entirely outside of the boiler,and its object is to provide meanswhereby undue strain upon theconnecting members, and accidental and undesired openingof the throttlevalve, due, in each case, to unequal expansion and contraction of theexposed connecting members and of the boiler, respectively, when the,temperature of the latter is materially raised or lowered, m

be efliectuallyprevented. g The improvement claimed ishereinafter fullyset forth.

In the accompanymg drawings: Figure 1 is a side view, in elevation, oftheupper rear portion of alocomotive boiler, illustrating an application.of our invention; Fig. 2,a vertical transverse section, on the line a:w of Fig. 1; Fig. 3, a side view, in elevation andon an enlarged scale,of the locking mechanism proper; Fig. 4, a horizontal section, on theline y, y, ofFig. 1,

and; Fig. 5, a similar section,on the line zeofFigQ. I

In throttle valve operating mechanism of the class to which ourinvention relates, particularly as applied in large locomotiveboilerslof the present standard types, a considerable distance.ordinarily intervenes between the throttle valve ,dome and the throttlelever, which is supported at or near the back head of the boiler, andthe throttle rod, which leads, externally tothe boiler, from thethrottlelever in'fthe cab to the throttle valve. dome, being exposed,throughout this distance, "to, the atmosphere, its expansion andcontraction, under variations of atmospheric temperature, are materiallyless than those of the .boiler, between its temperature when under,steam'and when cooled to that of the atmospherefafter the fire has beendrawn. As a. result of this difference Specification of Letters Patent.P t t d M 22, 191*7 Application filed December 8, 1916. vSerialll'o.135,871. I

in;-expansion and contraction, it has been found,inpractice, that theexpansion of the boiler, when heated, is sufficiently greater than thatof the throttle rod, to cause the throttle valve to he accidentallyopened, thereby causing the unlntended and'unexpectcd movement of thelocomotive, from,

which material damage has resulted. Another objection which isencountered in operating mechanism of the type referred to, is theimposition of undue stress and buckling tendency on the parts, by reasonof the greater degree of contraction of the boiler in cooling. V F g fOu r invention, which is readily applicable in connection with any ofthe known forms of outside throttle valve operating mecha-.

tom, to dry pip e or' steam supply pipe-,4,

leading ftO the engine cylinders. The throttle valve is raised andlowered, to admit steam to, and shut it off from,the dry,

pipe, by connections to a horizontal oscillatory throttle shaft, 7journaled in a support, 8, secured to the outside of the dome, 3 andextending through a stufling box, 89, therein.

The throttle shaft carries, on its outer end, an arm,7 which is coupled,by a tubular. throttle rod, 9, to a throttle lever, 12, pivotallyconnected to a support or stand, 10, secured to theboiler in such.location within the cab of the locomotive as may render. the throttle.lever conveniently operable by the engineer, said lever sw nging .over aguide segment, 13, secured to the support, 10. In operating mechanismsof the various constructions known in the art prior to our inventiomthesegment is provided with a plurality of peripheral notches or teeth,adaptedjto be engaged by a latch 'which ispivoted to the throttle lever,for

the purpose of locking the lever in anyadjustedi position. Under ourinvention, the

guide segment is plain or devoid of notches, and instead of the throttlelever being, as heretofore, locked by the engagement of a latch thereonwith an adjacent segment, the locking mechanism is located adjoining,and applied to, the throttle shaft, and is substantially of thefollowing described construction and manner of operation.

A locking segment, 16, which is concentric with the throttle shaft, 7,is secured to the support, 8, through which said shaft passes, saidsegment being peripherally notched o-r toothed. An arm, 7, projects fromsaid shaft, diametrically opposite the arm, 7, to which the tubularthrottle rod, 9, is connected, said arm, 7", swinging over the rear faceof the segment, 16, and having a guide block, 7, which is recessed tofit over said segment, secured to it by bolts, 7 A lock ing latch, 14,which is adapted to engage the notches or teeth of the segment, 16, iscoupled, by connections to be presently described, to the forward end ofa latch rod, 14, which passes through the tubular throttle rod, 9, andis coupled, at its rear end, to one of the arms of a bell crank or elbowlever, 14 journaled in a jaw fitting, 10, which is secured on the rearend of the rod, 9, and to which the throttle lever, 12, is coupled. Theopposite arm of the bell crank, 14:", is coupled, by a link, le to a.latch handle, 14, which is pivoted to the throttle lever, adjacent toits outer end. The relation of the pin which couples the link to thebell crank, to that which couples the throttle lever to the jaw fitting,is such that when the former is moved outwardly by the latch handle, itbecomes concentric with the latter. 4

The locking latch, 14:, is secured to the upper end of a bar, 14 whichis longitudinally slotted, to pass the bolts, 7", which connect theguide block, 7 to the arm, 7 and is guided, in its movements, by saidblock. The lower end of the bar, 14*, is coupled to a link, 14 which iscentrally swelled and slotted to clear the nut on the outer end of thethrottle shaft, and is coupled, at its lower end, to the lower arm of abell crank or elbow lever, 14 journaled in a jaw fitting, 10", which issecured on the forward end of the tubular throttle rod, 9, and to whichthe operating arm, 7", of the throttle shaft, is coupled. The upper armof the bell crank lever is pivotally connected to the forward end of thelatch rod, la before referred to. The relation of the coupling pin ofthe link and bell crank, to the coupling pin of the jaw fitting andoperating arm, is similar to that of the pins at the opposite end of thethrottle rOd.

In the operation of a mechanism constructed substantially ashereinbefore described, the depression of the latch handle, 14, by theoperator, acting'through the link,

14, moves the bell crank, 1 1, about its pivotal axis in the aw, 10bringing the pin in the rear arm of the bell crank approximately intoregister with the lever pin in the jaw, 10. The rearward motion therebyimparted to the forward arm of the bell crank, is transmitted, throughthe link, let", to the rear arm of the bell crank, 14 which is journaledin the jaw, 10*. Swinging movement is thereby imparted to the other armof the bell crank, 14 sufficient to bring the pin at its end intoregister with the op-. erating arm pin which couples the aw, 10 with thearm, 7 and, through the link, li and bar, 14, simultaneously disengagingthe latch, 1%., from the notches of the segment, 16. The latch is heldin this released position, during the period that the throttle valve isbeing raised or lowered, by the throttle lever, 12, throttle rod, 9,arm, 7 shaft, 7, and their accessory parts. When the throttle valve hasbeen moved to the desired position, the latch handle, 11, is released,thereby reversing the operation above described, and locking thethrottle valve in position by engaging the latch with the notches of thesegment.

It will be seen that by reason of the locking mechanism proper beingapplied at the forward end of the throttle rod, and operating thereat,directly, to permit and prevent, respectively, movement of the throttleshaft as desired, instead of being, as heretofore, separated from saidshaft by an intervening rod of considerable length, which is locked atits rear end and continuously subject to atmospheric temperature, theconnections between the throttle lever and throttle shaft are whollyrelieved from strains resultant upon the unequal degrees of expansionand contraction of said connections and of the boiler, respectively. Itwill be equally clear that accidental and prejudicial opening of thethrottle valve, by reason of such unequal expansion and contraction,will be absolutely prevented, the reason, in each case, being that thethrottle lever is free to be moved, in either direction, over its guidesegment, by the expansion and contraction of the boiler, therebyexempting the throttle rod from strain and exerting no disturbing actionon the locking mechanism.

Our invention, while readily applicable in connection with any of theknown designs of outside operated throttle valves, is not limited inapplication to any specific construction of throttle valves or of levermechanism for the operation thereof.

lVe claim as our invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent:

1. The combination, with a locomotive boiler, of a throttle valve; athrottle lever; connections, positively coupled throughout their length,interposed between the throttle valve and throttle lever, saidconnections "extending longitudinally exteriorr to the boiler, andprecluding variation of length: through any: admission oflost mo,--

tion in operation; and-means ior locking said throttle valve in adjustedposition'withk out rendering saidconnections subject to strains. r 1

2. The combination, ,with a locomotive boiler, of; a throttle valve; athrottle lever;

connections, positively coupled throughout theirlength, interposedbetween the throt tle valve and throttlelever, said connedtionsextending longitudinally i exterior to r theboiler; and means forlocking; said throt+ tle valve in adjusted position and permit; tingmovement of the throttle .leverand conwhen said valve is locked? V r 3.The combination, With a locomotive boiler, of a" throttle valve athrottle lever;

connections, positively coupled throughout necti'ons,- relatively to thethrottle valve;

their length, interposed between the throttle valve and throttleleverysaid connections extending longitudinally exterior to the isboiler; and a locking mechanism locatedadjacent to, and operating on,the throttle 4. The combination; :With a locomotive boiler, ofan'internal-throttle valve; a throt V 5. .The combination; w th alocomotive boiler, of a stand pipe supportedin a steam dome thereof; athrottle valve manually operable to control said p1p'e;a lever supportlocated exterior 'to the boiler and separated" bya longitudinal spacefrom the stand pipe a throttle lever pivoted, to said support;connectionscoupling said lever to the throttle valve; and a lockingmechanism supported adjacent to, and operating on, the throt- V tlevalve;

and of tms patent' may p nama for five cents am; by nddrenlng thecommissioner of Iatents,

6. The combination, With a locomotive boil er, of a stand pipe supportedin a steamdome-thereofi 'a throttle valve controlling said pipe; a shaftsupport secured to'the dome; an oscillatory throttle shaft journaled insaldrsupport and extending to the exterier of the dome; connectionscoupling said shaft tothe throttle valve; a lever support 7 locatedexterior to'the boiler and separated 1 by a longitudinal space from thestand pipe; 7, a throttlelever pivoted to said support; connectionscoupling said lever to the throttle shaft; a peripherally toothed ornotched locking segment secured'to the shaft support; a latch adapted toengage said segment; a latch handle pivoted to the throttle lever; and'connections'coupling said latch handle to the latch.

V 7. The combination," itha locomotive boiler, ofa' stand pipe supportedin a steam dome thereof; a throttle valve controlling said pipe;,,ashaft support secured to the dome; an oscillatory throttle shaftjournaled in saidsupportandextending to the exterior of the dome;connections coupling said shaft to the throttle valve; a lever support 7located exterior to the boiler and separated by a longitudinal spacefrom the stand pipe;

a throttle lever pivoted to said supportya tubular "connectioninterposed between said leverand the throttle shaft; a peripherallytoothed or notchedlocking segment secured to the shaftsupport; a latchadapted to engage'said segment; a, latch handle pivoted to the throttlelever;bell crank levers journaled atfopposite endsof'the tubularconnection and coupled to the latch and latch handle, respectively; anda rod extending throughflthe tubular connection and coupled,

at its ends,'to saidbell crank levers, c 9 Y 1 HARRY S. VINCENTL'WILLIAM F. STEELE.

Witnesses 1 i L. ,SPANGEN ERG, 1

' C. M. PEREZ.

